Introduction to Media and Information Literacy

• Literacy: The ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written
materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning, wherein individuals are able to
achieve their goals, develop their knowledge and potential, and participate fully in their community and wider society.

• Media: The physical objects used to communicate with, or the mass communication through physical objects such as
radio, television, computers, film, etc. It also refers to any physical object used to communicate messages.

• Media Literacy: The ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media in a variety of forms. It aims to empower
citizens by providing them with the competencies (knowledge and skills) necessary to engage with traditional media and
new technologies.

• Information: A broad term that covers processed data, knowledge derived from study, experience, instruction, signals
or symbols.

• Information Literacy: The ability to recognize when information is needed, and to locate, evaluate, and effectively
communicate information in its various formats.

• Technology Literacy: The ability of an individual, either working independently or with others, to responsibly,
appropriately, and effectively use technological tools. Using these tools an individual can access, manage, integrate,
evaluate, create and communicate information.

• Media and Information Literacy: The essential skills and competencies that allow individuals to engage with media and
other information providers effectively, as well as develop critical thinking and life-long learning skills to socialize and
become active citizens.

The Evolution of Traditional to New Media

Evolution of Media

Engage the learners in a discussion on how media and information has evolved throughout history.

Describe the four ages to the class.

Pre-Industrial Age (Before 1700s) - People discovered fire, developed paper from plants, and forged

weapons and tools with stone, bronze, copper and iron. Examples:

• Cave paintings (35,000 BC) • Clay tablets in Mesopotamia (2400 BC)

• Papyrus in Egypt (2500 BC) • Acta Diurna in Rome (130 BC)

• Dibao in China (2nd Century) • Codex in the Mayan region (5th Century) • Printing press using wood blocks (220 AD)

Industrial Age (1700s-1930s) - People used the power of steam, developed machine tools, established iron production,
and the manufacturing of various products (including books through the printing press). Examples:

• Printing press for mass production (19th century) • Newspaper- The London Gazette (1640)

• Typewriter (1800)Telephone (1876) • Motion picture photography/projection (1890)

• Commercial motion pictures (1913) • Motion picture with sound (1926)

• Telegraph • Punch cards

Electronic Age (1930s-1980s) - The invention of the transistor ushered in the electronic age. People harnessed the power
of transistors that led to the transistor radio, electronic circuits, and the early computers. In this age, long distance
communication became more efficient.

Examples:
• Transistor Radio • Television (1941)

• Large electronic computers- i.e. EDSAC (1949) and UNIVAC 1 (1951) • Mainframe computers - i.e. IBM 704 (1960)

• Personal computers - i.e. Hewlett-Packard 9100A (1968), Apple 1 (1976) • OHP, LCD projectors

Information Age (1900s-2000s) - The Internet paved the way for faster communication and the creation of the social
network. People advanced the use of microelectronics with the invention of personal computers, mobile devices, and
wearable technology. Moreover, voice, image, sound and data are digitalized. We are now living in the information age.
Examples:

• Web browsers: Mosaic (1993), Internet Explorer (1995) • Blogs: Blogspot (1999), LiveJournal (1999), Wordpress
(2003)

• Social networks: Friendster (2002), Multiply (2003), Facebook (2004) • Microblogs: Twitter (2006), Tumblr (2007)

• Video: YouTube (2005) • Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality

• Video chat: Skype (2003), Google Hangouts (2013) • Search Engines: Google (1996), Yahoo (1995)

• Portable computers- laptops (1980), netbooks (2008), tablets (1993) • Smart phones

• Wearable technology • Cloud and Big Data

Information Literacy
Information Literacy - a set of individual competencies needed to identify, evaluate and use information in the most
ethical, efficient and effective way across all domains, occupations and professions. It refers to the ability to recognize
when information is needed and to locate, evaluate, effectively use and communicate information in its various formats.

STAGE / ELEMENTS OF INFORMATION LITERACY

1. Identifying/recognizing information needs

2. Determining sources of information

3.Citing or searching for information

4. Analyzing and evaluating the quality of information

5. Organizing, storing or archiving information

6. Using information in an ethical, efficient and

effective way

7. Creating and communicating new knowledge

Ethical Use of Information

• Plagiarism: Using other people’s words and ideas without clearly acknowledging the source of the information

• Common Knowledge: Facts that can be found in numerous places and are likely to be widely known.

• Interpretation: You must document facts that are not generally known, or ideas that interpret facts.

Example: Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player ever to have played the game. This idea is not a fact but an

interpretation or an opinion. You need to cite the source.

• Quotation: Using someone’s words directly. When you use a direct quote, place the passage between quotation marks,
and

document the source according to a standard documenting style.

Example: According to John Smith in The New York Times, “37% of all children under the age of 10 live below the poverty

line”. You need to cite the source.

• Paraphrase: Using someone’s ideas, but rephrasing them in your own words. Although you will use your own words to
paraphrase, you must still acknowledge and cite the source of the information.

Types of Media: Print, Broadcast, New Media

• Print Media - media consisting of paper and ink, reproduced in a printing process that is traditionally mechanical.
• Broadcast Media - media such as radio and television that reach target audiences using airwaves as

the transmission medium.

• New Media - content organized and distributed on digital platforms.

Media Convergence

Media Convergence definitions:

• The co-existence of traditional and new media.

• The co-existence of print media, broadcast media (radio and television), the Internet, mobile phones,

as well as others, allowing media content to flow across various platforms.

• The ability to transform different kinds of media into digital code, which is then accessible by a range of devices (ex.
from the personal computer to the mobile phone), thus creating a digital

communication environment.

Media and Information Sources

• Reliability of information - Information is said to be reliable if it can be verified and evaluated.

Others refer to the trustworthiness of the source in evaluating the reliability of information.

• Accuracy of information - Accuracy refers to the closeness of the report to the actual data.

Measurement of accuracy varies, depending on the type of information being evaluated. Forecasts

are said to be accurate if the report is similar to the actual data. Financial information is considered

accurate if the values are correct, properly classified, and presented

• Value of information - Information is said to be of value if it aids the user in making or improving decisions.

• Authority of the source - Much of the information we gather daily do not come from a primary

source but are passed on through secondary sources such as writers, reporters, and the like.
Sources with an established expertise on the subject matter are considered as having sound

authority on the subject.

• Timeliness - Reliability, accuracy, and value of information may vary based on the time it was

produced or acquired. While a piece of information may have been found accurate, reliable, and valuable during the time
it was produced, it may become irrelevant and inaccurate with the

passing of time (thus making it less valuable). Other information may be timeless, proven to be

the same in reliability, accuracy, and value throughout history.

a. Types of libraries - Libraries are often classified in 4 groups, namely: academic, public, school

and special. These libraries may be either digital or physical in form.

b. Skills in accessing information from libraries - Due to the wealth of information in a library, it is

important to know the following:

• The access tool to use

• How the information being accessed may be classified

• The depth of details required--some libraries provide only an abstract of the topic

• More detailed information might require membership or some conformity to set rules of the

source (ex databases).

c. Characteristics of libraries in terms of reliability, accuracy and value - Libraries of published

books are often considered highly reliable, accurate, and valuable. Books and documents from

dominant sources are often peer reviewed. ISSN or ISBN registration ensures that standards

were followed in producing these materials.

Mind Mapping

• Indigenous - native; local; originating or produced naturally in a particular region.

• Indigenous knowledge - knowledge that is unique to a specific culture or society; most often it is not written down.

• Indigenous communication - transmission of information through local channels or forms. It is a means by which
culture is preserved, handed down, and adapted.

• Indigenous media and information - original information created by a local group of people. This also refers to content
about indigenous peoples that may be distributed through dominant forms of media or through forms of communication
unique to their people group.
Media and Information Languages

• Language - pertains to the technical and symbolic ingredients or codes and conventions that media and
information professionals may select and use in an effort to communicate ideas, information and knowledge.

• Media Languages - codes, conventions, formats, symbols and narrative structures that indicate the meaning of
media messages to an audience.

• Technical codes include sound, camera angles, types of shots and lighting. They may include, for example,
ominous music to communicate danger in a feature film, or high-angle camera shots to create a feeling of power in
a photograph.

• Symbolic codes include the language, dress or actions of characters, or iconic symbols that are easily understood.
For example, a red rose may be used symbolically to convey romance, or a clenched fist may be used to
communicate anger

• Convention - In the media context, refers to a standard or norm that acts as a rule governing behaviour.

• Messages - the information sent from a source to a receiver.

• Audience - the group of consumers for whom a media message was constructed as well as anyone else who is
exposed to the message.

• Producers - People engaged in the process of creating and putting together media content to make a finished
media product.

• Other stakeholders - Libraries, archives, museums, internet and other relevant information providers.

Legal, Ethical, and Societal Issues in Media and Information Literacy

• Copyright - a legal device that gives the creator of a literary, artistic, musical, or other creative work the sole right
to publish and sell that work. Copyright owners have the right to control the reproduction of their work, including
the right to receive payment for that reproduction. An author may grant or sell those rights to others, including
publishers or recording companies.
Violation of a copyright is called infringement.

• Plagiarism - an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without
authorization; the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author.

• Cyber Bullying - bullying that takes place online, or using electronic technology such as cell phones, computers,
and tablets over communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat, and websites. Examples of
cyber bullying: text messages or emails composed to insult or demean; rumors or false statements spread by email
or posted on social networking sites; and humiliating photos, videos, websites, or fake profiles deliberately shared
across social media.

• Computer addiction - the excessive use of computers to the extent that it interferes with daily life. This excessive
use may for example interfere with work or sleep, result in problems with social interaction, or affect mood,
relationships, and thought processes.

• Digital divide - an economic inequality between groups in terms of access to, use of, or knowledge of ICT. The
divide within countries (such as the digital divide in the United States) can refer to inequalities between individuals,
households, businesses, and geographic areas at different socioeconomic (and other demographic) levels. The
Global digital divide designates countries as the units of analysis, and examines the divide between developing and
developed countries on an international scale.

Opportunities and Challenges in Media and Information

“A Mind map is a graphical technique for visualizing connections between several ideas or pieces of information.
Each idea or fact is written down and then linked by lines or curves to its major or minor (or following or previous)
idea or fact, thus creating a web of relationships.”

Current and Future Trends of Media and Information

Some of the emerging technologies and trends

• Haptics technology -- Is a feedback technology (using computer applications) that takes advantage of the user’s sense
of touch by applying force, vibrations and/or motions to the User. Simple haptics is used in game controllers, joysticks
and steering wheels and is becoming more common in Smartphones. Haptics is gaining widespread acceptance as a key
part of virtual reality systems (i.e. computer simulated environments) - adding the sense of touch to previously visualonly
solutions. It is also used in virtual arts, such as sound synthesis, graphic design and animation. There are many
possibilities for Haptics to be applied to gaming, movies, manufacturing, medical, and other industries. Imagine your
doctor operating on your local

hospital from his computer in Australia.

• Contextual awareness -- By combining ‘hard sensor’ information such as where you are and the conditions around you,
combined with ‘soft sensors’ such as your calendar, your social network and past preferences - future devices will
constantly learn about who you are and how you live, work and play. As your devices learn about your life, they can begin
to anticipate your needs. Imagine your PC advising you to leave home 15 minutes early or take a different route to avoid
a traffic jam on your way to work. Consider a “context aware” remote control that instantly determines who is holding it
and automatically selects the Smart TV preferences for that person.

• Voice and tone recognition -- Not only can voice and tone recognition be used to confirm a person’s identity but tone
recognition can be used to detect a person’s health or emotional state. This technology will open new opportunities in
security and healthcare – with mobile applications.

• Intelligent routing to devices -- This future technology will be useful to, for example, local councils. While on the move,
staff will be able to provide the precise description and location of a street-based issue using Smartphones and mobile
devices that can take photos and have GPS (global positioning system) support. Intelligent routing will then alert the
responsible team to

action.

• Eye tracking technology -- Eye tracking technology measures eye positions and movements which are analysed through
computer applications. Future laptops, smartphones and tablets could contain thousands of tiny imaging sensors built
into the display screen. Eye tracking technology could have many possible applications, including:

• Law enforcement – lie detection

• Airport security – identifying suspicious behaviour, e.g. to catch terrorists before they strike

• Retail – recording, monitoring and analysing consumer behaviour to ‘tailor’ marketing to individuals

• Safety - alerting and awakening a drowsy or distracted driver would save many lives

• Health care – assisting people with disabilities or paralysis to communicate (laptop) and improve mobility (electric
wheelchair)

• Human-computer interaction – using screen icons and a blink here or a gaze there. Say goodbye to the mouse and
keyboard.

• Internet glasses! -- Technology that can display images directly onto our retinas while not blocking our sight is being
developed. This technology can be used in eyeglasses and have uses ranging from e-Gaming to military defense. In the
next 10-20 years experts predict that Internet glasses will replace Smartphones. Imagine these viewing experiences:

• Seeing building schematics and locations of others (especially useful for security or fire fighters)

• Giving a speech while information is streamed to your eyeglasses in real time

• Receiving turn by turn directions as you walk toward your destination

• Viewing virtual recipes while cooking without losing your rhythm

• Walking down the street, seeing one of your friends show up "on screen" 2 blocks and 1 cafe away

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